A 14-year old Dauphin County girl said she thought she was going to die Wednesday night when two men with apparent guns raided a church meeting. She later found out that it was a learning exercise carried out by the church youth group.

The mother of the young girl did not want to reveal their names. The teenager does not belong to the Glad Tidings Assembly of God church in Lower Swatara Township, but she decided to go to a youth meeting Wednesday night with a friend who told her the meetings were fun.

The pastor and youth pastor are incredulous. They can’t believe that anybody might be upset by their antics. After all, they’ve done it before with no complaints. That should make kidnapping children ok, right?

The youth pastor all but called the 14-year-old victim a liar.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure she was laughing at some point and having fun with the other students," youth pastor Andrew Jordan said. "I can't confirm that, but that's what I've heard from friends of hers that were there."

Nice going youth pastor Jordon. Did they teach you to act like that in youth pastor school? Was that in the correspondence course? I like how your words show your compassion and Christ-like nature. I can feel the love.

Let’s talk about what could have happened. Disaster scenarios easy to come up with after just a few minutes of thinking this though. A testosterone loaded teen decides to put up a right. He Jumps from a moving van, crashing the van, or acts out in a way that injures himself and other innocent participants. He gets to carry the guilt around for the rest of his life as a bonus. Guns were involved. All it takes is a uniformed 3rd party with a loaded gun and people will die. Let’s not forget the mental pressure these teens were placed under. Stress, terror, fearing for ones life, these factors can cause lasting mental trauma. Sure, you can laugh it off because you are in the know, but some kids are fragile.It only takes a little push. In the real world, only a reckless fool would propose this type of event. The risks are simply too high.

Let’s look at this from another angle. Church is a business. It has assets that require protection in order to sustain itself. A well-run business does not risk it capital on questionable behavior. Churches will take action to reduce risk wherever they can. I doubt the leaders of this church thought that through. This case will lead to a civil suit, and criminal charges are a real possibility too. This could cost the church a lot of money. This could actually close the church. Yet misguided church leadership wants to push ahead with more kidnapping events. I must ask, how is this in any way connected to the teachings of Jesus? Is it reasonable to risk the wellbeing of a church and its mission on a questionable stunt? Pastor John Lanza and youth pastor Andrew Jordan, you are nutballs and should not be allowed near a church.

Members of the Glad Tidings Assembly of God: If you feel like you are being persecuted for your actions. If you feel like outsiders are trying to run your church and tell you what to do. If you feel like the world has turned against you. It’s because your leadership acted like children. Step up to your responsibilities. You owe this girl an apology. You owe all of the children involved an apology. You owe their families an apology too. You also own your community an apology. I’m not just talking about the town you live in either. You need to tell other churches that you screwed up and were focused on the wrong things. You cannot justify teaching teens about imaginary Christian persecution scenarios when the homeless go hungry in your own county. You know the story right? Your lord commands that you feed the homeless, clothe the poor… the good work that Christians can do. It’s why some of us appreciate you. Terrifying children is not on the list. Jesus tells you to, “Live such a godly life that people, seeing you do good deeds, will have respect for your Father which is in heaven.” He also commands this jewel… “When persecutions come simply because you have done what is right in God's sight, rejoice and be extremely happy, for you have a great reward in heaven.” Why are you teaching kids to fear persecution again?

Nice touch taking your website down by the way. You probably need the cash to pay your legal bills. I understand.